King Croesus

This blog is about the KCCD2009 (King Croesus Contempt for Death) Trip and it's preparations. The journey will be performed on 2x 1939 Nimbus motorcycles with sidecars and ETD is April 2009. ETA is unknown, as you never know if it's a Sweet Chariot or an Infernal Machine you ride.

Monday, 14 March 2011

JC Nimbus workshop, again

Yet another round of applause for a job well done.

Endnu et bifald for en velgennemført mission.

Klaus, Knud Jørgensen & Tormod with signed copies of KJø's The Nimbus Bible.

Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Copenhagen Arrival

Tuesday, March 1st 2011

One day they seem to be in Egypt, then next day there's word from that they're in Germany with a broken frame (deja-vu all over again). And suddenly we hear that they'll be in Denmark on Tuesday. We'll believe it when we see it....

Fastforward a few days to the JC Nimbus workshop in Copenhagen. A planned arrival in Rødby barely a few hundred clicks south of Cph was delayed a bit, we hear from Fin Ohlendorff, who drove down there to meet them. They'll be here at 2 p.m. instead of at high noon, says the latest bulletin. People keep trickling in, most in cars or by train, but a few Nimbuses, an Indian Chief bobber and a Chinese motorcycle-style thing show up as well.

We go indoors to drink strongish Christmas beer and eat some really weird Swedish cake-style thing, which the Swedes present claim is a delicacy, in turn ruining whatever credibility they have left on this side of the sound. Or we go outdoors, freezing our collective butts off, kicking tyres and gossiping about stuff. The Norwegians are further delayed, we hear from FO, once more by a broken frame. It's been fixed with a luggage strap, and should be ok as long as Tormod keeps the speed below 80 kph (50 mph).

We wait some more.

Then finally we hear a roar down at the other end of Viborggade. A blue Nimbus outfit is racing up towards us, trailed by a red one and a large blue Beemer. Closer now they come, everybody have their cameras & camcorders out, waving Danish & Norwegian flags.

The brakes work, thankfully, engines are turned off, helmets get unstrapped and we see the two familiar grins on dirty faces. Everybody applauses.

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The bikes get started up again & parked in the courtyard of JC Nimbus. Both look like shite, probably haven't been washed since Sarf Africa, and the engines leak oil like you wouldn't believe it. Oil consumption has been obscene lately, suggesting knackered internals. The frame welds are unspeakable, lights are out, and some of the tyres are bald, which to T & K means they still have at least another 400 k's left. But so what? The boys made it home (depending of how you define 'home', of course).

Tormod & Klaus have more hands to shake, pose with people for the cameras, co-chairman Tom of the Nimbus Club gives a short speech, books and pics get autographed with hands trembling from either the cold of the engine vibration. A few gifts are exchanged, and the two main characters then enter the warmth indoors, to mingle & to tell tales. Again and again, for hours.

Roald Amundsen & Tor Heyerdal may not exactly have been put to shame, but at least they now have competition. Opinions vary, but some even suggest that this is a bigger accomplishment than the 1930s Nimbus trips to Persia and around The Mediterranean. No matter, this was the first Nimbus RTW trip, and it will probably not be repeated for decades, if ever.

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When darkness falls most guests have left, and we wheel the Nimbuses into the workshop for the night. Fixing them for the final stretch to Norway will be tomorrow's job.